Strings Attached

04. Trigger & Temptation

Author

Jungkook woke up and got ready for work, just like every other day — crisp suit, sleek hair, aura of power. But today, there was something else buzzing in him.

Curiosity. Excitement.

He couldn’t wait to learn more about his “Honey eyes,” as he already loved calling her in his mind.

Downstairs, one of his trusted men handed him a sealed file — the one containing everything about Yn.

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Jungkook

I opened the file and the first thing that hit me was her photo.

She was smiling softly in it — looking like a porcelain doll that would break under the slightest pressure. I had to force myself to stop staring and actually read the damn file.

She was living a simple life: a caring father, a protective brother, a few close friends. A medical student — her dream to become a doctor born from a painful memory… losing her mother.

My chest ached reading that. But also, pride bloomed somewhere inside me.

She had strength.

Every little detail about her was in the file — her university section, favorite subjects, go-to café, places she liked to visit. And the cherry on top? My father was one of the trustees at her university. Fate really was playing in my favor.

Before I could get lost in thoughts of her again, I had other matters to handle.

I descended into the basement — the scent of blood thick in the air, the kind of stench that clung to your skin long after you left. The room was dim, lit only by a single flickering bulb overhead.

The traitor sat slumped in a chair, arms chained to the sides, legs bound, his body barely holding itself together after the interrogation. His face was a mess — one eye swollen shut, lips split open, nose broken.

Standing silently around him were a handful of my men. I’d asked them to witness this. To remember.

I stepped closer, my shoes clicking against the concrete floor. The man looked up at me, face trembling with fear.

“Boss… please—”

Crack.

I slapped him hard enough for his head to whip sideways.

“I didn’t ask you to speak,” I said, cold and controlled.

I circled him like a vulture, eyes scanning the bruises, the sweat, the tears.

Weakness had a smell. And he reeked of it.

“You tried to sell me out. Fed information to someone stupid enough to think they could outplay the Jeons.”

I stopped behind him, leaning down to speak close to his ear.

“That was your first mistake.”

He whimpered, “Boss, he threatened me—my family—he said he’d kill them—”

I yanked his head back by the hair and forced him to meet my eyes.

“And the sixty million deposited in your wife’s offshore account — was that part of the threat too?”

His face went pale.

“Loyalty isn’t conditional. You swore an oath to me.”

I turned towards Taesan, one of my men. “Who was he working for?”